Pasadena pursues charges against foreclosed mom

Click Here:For related photo gallery PASADENA - The city of Pasadena on Wednesday refused to drop its misdemeanor trespassing charges against Rose Gudiel and eight other protesters who demonstrated against foreclosures in the lobby of OneWest Bank.

Gudiel is due in court today to set a preliminary hearing date in the trespassing case.

The October protest, in which Gudiel and her 63-year-old mother were arrested by Pasadena Police, was likely the tipping point in Fannie Mae's decision to reverse the foreclosure of Gudiel's home and call off certain eviction.

Lawyers for the demonstrators contend Pasadena City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris intends to make an example of protesters.

"(Bagneris) wants to have something holding over their heads, so that they won't make trouble in Pasadena for at least a year," said Karen Suri, part of the team of attorneys representing the protesters.

Bagneris said Wednesday that while she personally remains "sensitive to the fact that civil disobedience advances and perhaps changes a society" her office has a responsibility to maintain order.

"We have laws and we are supposed to follow the laws," Bagneris said. "We are to enforce them based on the facts."

On Wednesday, Gudiel said she planned to fight the criminal charges as vigorously as she battled the bank. "When the bank tried to take my house and refused to even talk to me, I took a stand to show how unfairly they treat homeowners like me," Gudiel said in a statement. "Now I'm being treated like a criminal for trying to save my home."

The October arrests came after about 70 protesters took over the bank's lobby for about 90 minutes; Pasadena Police declared the assembly unlawful.

Gudiel refused to leave.

She had been fighting Pasadena bank OneWest and Fannie Mae for several months to keep her Bassett home of six years.

Gudiel and eight others were summarily arrested and taken away in a police van before being cited and released. Hours after the incident Gudiel received a call from bank officials, who agreed to refinance her mortgage.

"We proved that the bank was acting wrong, not me," she said. "I only wish the Pasadena city attorney would see the situation from our side."

Bagneris said she understands that Gudiel's demonstration saved her from foreclosure, but said the City Attorney's Office can't take into account "the type of speech" when it prosecutes civil disobedience cases.

The protesters' attorneys are in talks with the city attorney's office, but those discussion seem stalled.

Bagneris said her office will continue to review the case and use its prosecutorial discretion in determining whether to press forward with the case.

Activists have also called for the city attorney to drop the trespassing charges and criticized Pasadena for being tone-deaf to the struggles of those affected by the foreclosure crisis.

"(Gudiel) is asking the city attorney why are we wasting taxpayer's money on this when it proved to be a turning point in the battle to get her home back? She is asking the city to stand with homeowners," said Peter Kuhns, director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment-Los Angeles, a homeowners' rights group.

"But the city attorney has told her that the law is the law and it doesn't matter who you are or what you are doing it for," Kuhns said. "There is no way she would have saved the house if we hadn't done that campaign."

Patrick Briggs, Occupy Democracy-Pasadena organizer said the city was wrong to pursue the case against Gudiel.

"She was doing the community a service and for the city to pursue a misdemeanor charge shows they really have a tin ear," Briggs said. "It's not like you are going to have 100 ladies like her showing up to banks."